This is just too perfect. Earlier today, noting that none of the network morning shows explicitly identified Rod Blagojevich as a Democrat, I wondered out loud how the MSM would treat a Republican in like circumstances. It's taken less than three hours to get our answer.
Let's preface this by saying that Norm Coleman is not, repeat not, the target of an investigation. To mention him anywhere within a million miles of Blago is unfair. I'm citing the MSNBC coverage just for purposes of illustrating the double standard. At about 11:20 AM ET, here's how Contessa Brewer threw it to Norah O'Donnell.
CONTESSA BREWER: Let's head over to Norah now, live at the politics desk, with more on a potential problem for GOP Senator, and the incumbent here in Minnesota, Norm Coleman. Norah.Let's see. The very first word out of Brewer's mouth in mentioning Coleman was "GOP." Even that doesn't do it justice. You have to view the video to hear how Contessa stressed her pronunciation of "GOP." After a little chit chat about Brewer having said "here in Minnesota" whereas she was actually in New York, Norah took up the ball. It took her ten seconds to tag Coleman as a Republican.Story Continues Below Ad ↓NORAH O'DONNELL: New this hour, we do have new information. There is a federal investigation involving a long-time friend and benefactor of Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the FBI wants to know whether that friend tried to steer money toward the Republican incumbent, who of course is locked in this tight recount race with Democrat Al Franken. And NBC News justice correspondent Pete Williams with more on that. And Pete, explain what's going on here.To his credit, Williams suggested that O'Donnell had overstated the case. His opening words: "I think calling this a 'federal investigation' at this point is probably a little too grand a term for it." I'm including the remainder of Williams' remarks just so that readers can see how fluffy the allegations appear at this point.
In any case, sincere thanks to Contessa and Norah for serving up such a timely case in point of the MSM double standard.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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What a bunch of whoresluts
December 10, 2008 - 13:18 ET by Lord ErondI see. Anything to distract from Blago and his potential associations with Obama. But boy oh boy, you became very rapidly aware that Coleman was the GOP Senator though. I wonder what it would take for the military to drop a daisy cutter on MSNBC studios.
WE SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOUR LIBERAL DISTORTION TACTICS, MSNBC!!!! YOU ZUCKER ARE SCUM! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE DAY WHEN YOUR NETWORK FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY.
"What you can not enforce, do not command" -Sophocles-
The Bush FBI - Republican killers
December 10, 2008 - 16:33 ET by bpjamThe Bush FBI managed to short-stop the Chicago investigation before it ended up implicating all of those 'Senate Candidate #..' along with their political sponsors. So, only Blago goes down. No such courtesy would ever be offered to a GOP Governor.
But at the same time, the FBI manages to leak out that Coleman is somehow under investigation related to some tangential connect to some guy who supported him. I guess we should be thrilled that the FBI wasn't leaking this PRIOR to the election to ensure the Al Franken became not just a joke in his own household but a joke in the US Senate.
The Bush FBI has implicated but not indicted a handful of GOP congressman. They have also done such brazenly political things as charging and trying Ted Stevens two weeks BEFORE his six year re-election and proferring a plea to Bob Ney in Ohio BEFORE the election but AFTER the primary so that the GOP wouldn't have a candidate in November or sliming the head of the House Intelligence Committee with a search of his house BEFORE his re-election even though he was not a target. And yet William Jefferson has been re-elected three times since the FBI found their money in his freezer because the Bush FBI doesn't want to get rid of Democrats for fear they will blame him for being partisan. But if there is GOP candidate/elected official remotely involved they can count on the DOJ to violate any protocol to ensure that they are harmed as much politically as possible.
Bush has been such a gift to the DNC that they should construct a statue of him at their offices. It's not like they have offered the country anything else of value beyond hating Bush and helping him destroy the GOP.
Dirty Laundry
December 10, 2008 - 13:19 ET by littlemissmuffin"Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley comes to mind here. Kick 'em (Repubs) when they're up, kick 'em when they're down.
No safe haven for Repubs in the MSM. If somehow they cured cancer and brought world peace, they would still get a kick in the you-know-where!
"If we conservatives moved to those seven non-existent States, the government couldn’t find us and tax us to death!"
No Shock
December 10, 2008 - 13:30 ET by considerthisThis Liberal la-la land never surprises me in what it does. They conually kept "finding" votes for Franken in backs of cars, briefcases and other suspect places but no problem counting them. Nope not here. If it is for the Left it is all OK.
This is a stupid tactic to wave something shiney at the mindless left so they can quit looking at the trainwreck from Illinois.
... man I don't seem to have the best luck in states to live in.
Wag the Dog
December 10, 2008 - 13:36 ET by littlemissmuffin"This is a stupid tactic to wave something shiney at the mindless left so they can quit looking at the trainwreck from Illinois."
Wag the Dog!
"If we conservatives moved to those seven non-existent States, the government couldn’t find us and tax us to death!"
I heard that a guy who got
December 10, 2008 - 13:32 ET by mattmI heard that a guy who got caught robbing a convenience store had voted for Republican Senator Norm Coleman in 2002...
republican corruption
December 10, 2008 - 13:53 ET by nathanbforrestthere was also the 97 year old republican woman who was incontinent in her wheel chair while recieving a meals on wheels supper .. front page derrogation for days and days .. a 97 year old dem would never have been that indelicate ..
never look a gift skunk in the tail
Yeah-
December 10, 2008 - 13:57 ET by BKeyserI heard that a guy who knows another guy, has a sister who's friend at work didn't make his child support payment on time and he voted for a Republican and then tried to get a book published about the subject but was turned down by some very astute Progressive Publishers...
Thats nothing.I heard
December 10, 2008 - 19:57 ET by bmoviesThats nothing.
I heard from my brother in laws cousins ex-wife that her neighbor, a lifelong Republican, was touring through Washington DC, and during this tour he bought a bunch of postcards from a souvenir shop. He paid cash for these postcards, and when the cashier gave him his change, the cashier gave him a nickel more than he was owed! Just like those Republicans to steal from the poor. And on top of that, only hours later, he took the tour through the White House, and oh, guess who was President at the time? None other than Ronald Reagan!
So, he took that extra nickel back to the White House with him, but there is no evidence that when he left the White House, he took that nickel with him.
An illegal contribution made to the contras, and on federal government property? Hmmm....
She was a little slow
December 10, 2008 - 14:08 ET by motherbeltShe was a little slow getting it out there.
I surmised in the other thread that they would rewrite copy to get the word "Republican" out there first.
As in "Republican Senator Norm Coleman may have a problem...yada yada yada.... "
Wasn't this the same media
December 10, 2008 - 14:15 ET by kgWasn't this the same media that was protecting Obama over possible guilt by association?
"Forget change, I want improvement!"
Ammo
December 10, 2008 - 15:03 ET by rick007More ammo and guns people, The Liberals are comming. By land and sea and air.
They want only one thing, "America" to fall!!!!!!!!!
Time for a Boston oil party!!!!
Autos
December 10, 2008 - 15:10 ET by rick007Hmmmm!
No bail out for the autoworkers. If they go bankrupt the Dems say we won't buy their product. HMMM seems to me that is the problem now. We can'y buy new cars because the Dem's have created the Ressesion that they have been working on for the last 8 years against Bush.
Ain't it ironic, they handed it over to the great "O" Dumbo.
Rule One, If there is a
December 10, 2008 - 17:14 ET by SnappyRule One, If there is a scandle involving a Democrat how big is it? Do we have to report it? Yes?
Rule Two, is there any way we can tie in a Republican to the scandle?
Rule Three, Is there a whisper of ANYTHING Republican going on that we can segway to and thus link the GOP to this mess, Its imperitive that we say the word "Republican" in the same time frame as talking about this scandle.
Dirty trick
December 10, 2008 - 18:42 ET by nkviking75If Franken were the Republican and Coleman the Democrat, there'd be endless speculation about how Franken was pulling a political dirty trick on Coleman and trying to steal the election. But with Franken in the DFL, no one in the press even thinks of such a possibility.
Welcome to the era of unity, you racist!
Oh, nothing agenda-driven
December 10, 2008 - 21:59 ET by bigtimerOh, nothing agenda-driven here with these two and msnbc.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Documented bias.
December 11, 2008 - 09:09 ET by Blogger Guy00001This site has documented the bitter bias of the media towards anyone who threatens the march to socialism.
The media never miss an opportunity to trash a Republican and to protect a Democrat.